“This isn’t a pool. It’s more a natural swim environment,” says Jesse Banford, director of facility infrastructure delivery for the City of Edmonton.

Banford points proudly at the construction site at Borden Park, when the construction team from Ellis Don is building a very 21st-century swimming hole — the first of its kind in Canada.

Instead of using chlorine or salt to purify the water, this golden pond — with a budget of $14.5 million — will use a combination of sand and granite filters, aquatic plants, plankton and UV light to keep the water safe for the public.

The area will feature both a shallow 150-square-metre wading pool for small children and a much larger pool — 42 metres long, 16.8 metres wide and two metres deep — for swimmers to splash and play.

The whole area will be surrounded by 1,100 cubic metres, or 1,643 metric tonnes, of sand, quarried in Thorhild, along with 11 species of native plants to create the impression of being at the beach.

An artist’s rendering of the “Natural Swim Experience” planned for Edmonton’s Borden Park. Toronto architects gh3 had to go back to the drawing board after estimates for their first design came in more than 100 per cent over budget. The pool, original scheduled to open in the summer of 2016, is now expected to open this August.gh3 /
Postmedia

The pool was supposed to be open last summer. But a massive redesign — necessitated by the need to bring down costs — delayed construction. Now, crews from Ellis Don are hard at work putting up the Rundlestone walls, installing the filtration system and ordering just the right sort of sand — not so light that it blows away, not so coarse that it’s unpleasant underfoot.

Banford says the city plans to do a “soft open” this August to iron out the kinks and then open in earnest for a full season next summer.

“Because it’s not a standard pool, we need to go through a lot of learnings.”

“Natural pools” like this have been common in Europe, especially Germany, for decades. But they’re new on this side of the Atlantic. The only project of this kind in North America is Webber pool, in Minneapolis. While it has won critical acclaim for its innovative design, it’s also had a series of operational problems. It opened two years late, and well over budget. (Although even then, it cost roughly half of what we’re spending here.) Last summer, its first full season in operation, it had to close multiple times because of elevated bacteria levels.

Webber pool in Minneapolis uses natural pool technology. It’s the first of its kind in North America.SunMedia

But Robb Heit, who’s managing the project for the city, says Edmonton has tried hard to learn from the Minneapolis experiment. He himself went to swim in its natural pool last summer.

“It was as cool and clear as the swimming in the Shuswap,” says Heit.

Edmonton’s pool, which will be maintained at 24 to 25 C to reduce algae growth, will be similar, he says.

“The water will be a little more turbid. You don’t get the crystal clear water you see in a chlorinated pool.”

This won’t be a pool where you can dive or swim lengths or take lessons. The cool temperature may discourage guests who prefer to laze in warmer water. Still, Banford believes the novelty, and the “green” pedigree, will attract visitors, especially on the hottest summer days.

“We’re looking at it as more of a destination,” says Banford. “It’s just going to appeal to a certain demographic. Families are going to come to check out the only natural pool in Edmonton.”

City project manager Robb Heit stands in front of the Borden Park pool construction site. The high-tech ‘natural’ pool, which is supposed to open this August, will be the first of its kind in Canada.Greg Southam /
Postmedia

I hope he’s right. After all, we’re spending $14.5 million — about twice what the city spent on the newish Queen Elizabeth Pool — to build something this finicky to run. Something, too, which probably won’t have the populist appeal of a conventional pool.

I worry about ducks and geese and what they leave behind. I worry about swimmer’s itch and mosquitoes. I worry the pool’s filtration systems won’t be able to handle big crowds on hot days. I worry high bacterial counts may shut the pool periodically, as has happened in Minneapolis. I worry we may be building a big fancy slough in the middle of our city.

And yet, in a city that has four other conventional outdoor pools, in a city with precious few beaches, there is something beguiling in the vision of an urban “lake” experience we can all share, within walking distance of two LRT stations, a magnet destination to complement the Borden Park sculpture garden.

In 1924, the city opened its first “mixed pool” in Borden Park, where men and women could swim together. Borden Park is where Edmonton takes risks. Now, we’ll see how this one pays off.

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